Property owners oppose land seizure

Friday

Jan 4, 2013 at 11:12 AM

A plan to seize beachfront property at Fourchon has raised questions about the government’s right and need to take private property.

Xerxes Wilson Staff Writer

A plan to seize beachfront property at Fourchon has raised questions about the government’s right and need to take private property.Lafourche’s Beachfront Development District will begin efforts to seize a portion of the undeveloped beach and land leading up to it. Officials aim to open it to vehicle traffic and eventually public development. Local landowners said they will fight the forced sale because it is their right to develop the property. Officials seek to take ownership of a 44-acre tract of land at the end of La. 3090. It is owned by the Caillouet Land Corp. The commission wants to allow driving on the beach and build public facilities, such as a pavilion, RV park and pier. Officials want to take the land through expropriation — a process by which the government can seize a private landowner’s property in return for paying fair-market value.The Lafourche Parish Council set aside $275,000 to buy the land, prompting landowners to promise a “messy and lengthy legal battle.” Jay Caillouet, administrator of Caillouet Land Corp., said the company is willing to allow recreational use of the beach but rejects the idea of vehicle traffic on the shore. La. 3090 is the only road leading to the shore, meaning those unwilling to walk miles only have access to a small portion of the 9-mile stretch of beach, said Commission Chairman Ricky Cheramie. “That’s why getting vehicle traffic on the beach is priority,” Cheramie said.Christopher Tyson, an assistant professor at LSU Law School, said land is usually taken to build schools or roads and can be contentious.“We understand culturally there is a set of rights that apply to owning land, and we view those as inviolable by the government,” Tyson said. “So the notion of the government being able to unilaterally take property offends many people’s notion of their rights.”To expropriate, law states the government entity must take the land for public use and provide just compensation to the owner.“We believe the right to development should be done by private companies and not have the parish take the development risk,” Caillouet told the Lafourche Parish Council last month. Cheramie and other members tout the seizure as economic development. Many states, including Louisiana, exempt economic development as a “public use,” said Randall Smith of the New Orleans-based law firm Smith and Fawer. Smith said courts often side with the government entity in expropriation fights.Tyson said courts typically find public parks and similar projects as valid reasons for expropriation. An appraisal from Craig E. Stanga, a Thibodaux-based appraiser, sets the value at $275,000, Cheramie said.Caillouet said the property is worth more.Cheramie says the company would not be able to get the necessary building permits because of environmental issues, making it less valuable. Parish Coastal Zone Manager Archie Chiasson III said developing the property is possible, but not necessarily practical because of the costly approval process.Both private and public entities would have to front these costs to build. Caillouet said the company has the permits to build a pier.Should landowners challenge the seizure, as they have promised to do, the court will determine the land’s value and the parish would have to pay that cost. The parish would also be responsible for court costs if a judge deems its current offer too low.

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